Oil burner



Feb. 21, 1928. 1,660,055

- P. W. STEVENS OIL BURNER Filed Jan. 24, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet l Fig. 1.

P. W. STEVENS OIL BURNER Feb. 21-, 1928. 1,660,055

Filed Jan. 24, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 P Wilmer Stevens,

1 A TTORNE Y8 Feb. 21, 1928. 1,660,055

I P w. STEVENS OIL BURNER Filed Jan. 24, 1927 5 sheets-shew. 3

agwa/ INVENTOR. F Wilmer Stevens,

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It". VJZLMER STATES" STEVENS, OF IRVIIIGTON, NEWIERSEY, ASSIGTeI-OR TO REX-ENGINEERING 00., or nnwenir, new J nsn-Y; A coit'rona'rion or NEW JERSEY. I

OIL Bea-mm.

Application filed January 24, 1927. Serial No. 163,025.

This invention relates to oil burners, and is intended more particularly for usein connection with house heaters or boilers, although it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to any particular use for which it may be found desirable or advantageous. it can also be employed with any lrind of fuel other than oil, that being mentioned for brevity and without any purposeto limit the invention to use of one type of fuel. a

The objects ofthe invention are to provide a burner which will obtain complete combustion of the fuel; to prevent deposit of soot or carbon; to secure pro )er mixture of the combustible ingredients; to provide means for sucking theoil' to the burner; to

avoid gravity feed to the burner; to prevent v carbonization of the fuel in the feed pipe; to

insulate the fuel feed pipe within the combustion chamber; to utilize steam pressure generated by the burner for feeding the fuel to the burner; to obtain a constant level feed for water for creating said steam; to provide for constant pressure of steam; to

provide means for starting the burner in operation; LO utilize said supplying air to the fuel duringoperation of the burner; to avoid undue noise in operation; to avoid noisy movable parts such blowers; to utilize standard parts and fittings; to require minimum .specially made aarts; to secure throughout simplicity of construction and operation, and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brou ht out by the following description.

Referring to the accompanying drawings,

in which like numerals of reference indicate the same parts throughout the several views, Figure 1 is a perspective-view of my invention shown in position in an -ordinary type of house furnace, parts of the furnace being broken away to disclose the parts of the invention therein;

starting means for furnace which may be of any usual construc tion provlding a fire chamber 2. snown the grate covered with slag 3 or other suitable material to prevent damage to the grate and confine the heat within the fire chamber, but this may be varied a's found desirable or necessary. The fire chamber has the usual door opening 4-,shown as being closed by a door 5. having an appropriate hole 6 therein for viewingthe interior and also" for reaching to light the burner or for other purposes. In the specific construction disclosed, said door 5 is'not intended to be opened after the burner is once installed, and forms not only a closure for the opening but a support for the various partsrconstituting elements of my invention.

lVithin the furnace, and supported from said 'door 5, isa burner pot 7, and outside the furnace are float controls 8 and 9, the

I have" one control 8 providing a constant level of I liquid fuel to be fed to the pot, and the other control 9'providing a constant level of water to be fed to the pot. The pot 7 is illustrated as a casting having upwardly and outwardly fiari side walls with a b flange 10 at the top receiving a cover 11 bolted or otherwise secured thereto for obtaining a steam-tight chamber 12 within said pot 7. At the bottom of this pot, the

- side walls turn inwardly and thenupwardly within the pot, as art-.13 in Figure 5,. converging inwardly upward to form a reentrant tapered portion atthe middle of the pot. By this construction the lower portion of the interior chamber 12 of thepot is an annulus, and it is within this portion that the level of water s maintalned from which the steam is created.

In a threaded opening in the top or the said re-entrant portion of the pot'is mount-' ed the outer member 14 of an ejector 15 through which steam generated in the pot finds exit and sucks fuel from the {fuel float control 8 heretofore mentioned. The specific ejector illustrated is constructed with 1 the said outer member 14 centrally and longitudinally recessed and havinga contracted neck-or vent-uri 16 near its lower end and afthreaded opening alined therewith at the other end. The inner ejector member 17, is

adjustablyscrewed into said threaded open- .ing of the outer member, and provides a nozzle 18 which may be brought into proper relation tothe Yenturicontraction to form obtain flow thereof.

shown comprises a shut-off valve 21 at the outer end of fuel feed pipe 19, with other piping connecting said valve to the float an annular passage therewith, as clearly shown in Figure 5. The outer ejector member 14 isprovided with a lateral threaded opening for receiving the end of the fuel feed pipe19, there being a fuel passage from said pipe to the Venturi opening, and thus'as a flow of steam under pressure or other actuating medium passes through the central passage 20 of the inner ejector member, a suction is created in the passage outside of the inner member sufiicientto suck fuel through the pipe 19. Consequently a supply of fuel will be ejected with the actuating medium from the Venturi outer member into the tapered recess. at the 'bottomof the pot. The fuel thus ejected,

having been ignited, results in a jet of flame directed toward thegr'ate of the furnace, the flame in practice spreading and curling upwardly'outward along the walls-of the combustion chamber of the furnace. It may behere noted that the inner member 17 of the ejector projects upwardly above the outer member 1 1 to a position terminating w th n the dome or crown. of the cover 11 of the pot, see F1gure 5, so that its central passage 20 opens into the pot as high in said furnace door 5 and is connected to the bottom of the float control 8, see Figures l and 2. The piping is preferably such that-the "level of'the fuel in thc float control is always lower than the said fuel feed pipe 19 to the ejector, orjotherwise arrangedso' the fuel This is an cannot gravitate to the ejector. important feature of the invention, as from a safety consideration it is important not to permit flow of the fuel into the furnace when the ejector is not working. The ejector is adapted and arranged to elevate the fuel fromthe float control 8 and positively The specific piping control, including a vertical reach of pipe 22 or, its equ valent up which the fuel must be raised by positive actuation other than gravity. 7

As heretofore indicated," float control 9 ensures a constant water level in the pot'7,

, there being a pipe 23 provided connecting the bottom of said float control with a lower part 'ofthe pot. As shown, said pipe 23 is threaded into an opening therefor in the outside wall of the pot adjacent the lower part thereof toward thedoor 5, saidpipe extending outwardly through an appropriassage of the control 9 includes a check valveQ l, see Figure 1,v which will allow flow of the water from the float control to the pot,-but'will prevent flow in the opposite ClllBCtlOIl,

There is also provided means for equalizing the pressure in' the upper parts of the'pot and waterfloat control 9 so as to obtain a replacement of water in the pot bygravity regardless of the pressure of steam or other medium in the'pot. v I obtain this equalization of pressure by asteam pipe connection 25 from the upper part of the pot to the upper part of the water float control. I have shown this pipe connection 25 as providing a length of pipe 26 screwed intothe same opening 27 in the pot through'which the oil or fu-el'pipe 19 passes from within the pot, Figure 5, said fuel pipe being shown as within said steam pipe. Outside of the furnace door Fi 'ure 1 the steam )1 e 15 provided with a T connection 28 with theoil i e )assin out of the strai 'ht-wa end of the connection through an appropriate stuffing-box 29. A nipple connection or length of pipe 30 from the angular connec- 1 tion of the T also screws into the upper 'portion of water float control 9, thus obtaining a steam passage from the pot to the water float control. By this construction, the pressure in both places will be substantially the same and the water will therefore flow by gravity from the float control to the pot to maintain the level in the pot. It may here be noted that sudden building up of pressure in they pot would have a tendency to force the water from the pot into the float chamber until equalization of the pressures tool; effect, and it is to prevent such surging that I have provided the hereinbeforc mentioned check valve 24 in the water pipe connection between the pot and WtlfGlllOfll; control.

Particular attention is called to the construction above described whereby the-fuel pipe 19 w tlnnthe furnace is enclosed by the steam pipe 25, which alfords a protection for the fuel pipe against encess' heats which would tend to Carbonize the fuel. The

steam within 'thepipe surrounding the fuel pipe not only provides a substantially uniform temperature for the fuel pipe, and also acts to preheat the fuel before mixture with the steam and before it is ejected into the combustion chamber. This preheating and maintaining at aconstantbut not excessive temperature are believed to be important features of the invention and essential to proper operation of the device; Further protection of'the fuel pipe 19 from excessive heat is obtained by surrounding the steam pipe Qtiwhich encloses it with another pipe or casmg which opens to the atmosphere through the door so as to surroundthe steam pipe with an air space in which the air may circulate. In carrying out this feature the pot is provided with an enlarged boss 31 around the screw-threaded opening for the'steam pipe 25, see Figure 5, said boss being hollowed and screw-threaded to receive a pipe 32 which'is sufliciently larger than thest-eam pipe which it surrounds to pipe 32 is screw-threaded and receives one nut 33 immec iately inside the furnace door 5 and another nut 34 immediately outside the said door, see Figure 1, thereby holding the pipe or casing in position with its end open to the atmosphere, and also providing an adequate mounting for the support of the pot from the door.

Within the annular lower portion of the material forming the pot, in the part thereof where the outer Walls are directed inwardly and turn upwardly to form the inner walls, is an annular passage, 35, Figure 5.

This opening or passage 35 has a lateral opening for connection to a gas pipe 36 which extends outwardly through the door of the furnace. The outer end of this gas pipe 36 is shown flared in Figures 1' and 2, and provided with air-intake openings 37 and gas service connectionjet 38. The bottom of the pot is pierced with a plurality of burner holes 39 into the annular passage 35, so that when gas is supplied through jet 38 and pipe-36 to said passage, it may escape through saidburner holes and be ignited for heating the water in the pot to a boiling; temperature to obtain necessary steam pressure for starting ope-ration oi? the device. After-the steam pressure is. obtained so the v fuel'is ejected and becomes ignited, sufiicient heat is generated thereby to maintain the steam pressure within the pot, and then the. gas is shut oifby asuitable valve 40 beyond the jet. Air will continue to be sucked in through the air-intake openings 37 of the 7 gas supply pipe and will pass out into the combustion chamber through burner holes 39, mixing with the ejected fuelt-o supply pre-heated air for obtaining proper and complete combustion.

For economy and convenience in manufacture, I prefer to construct both the oil and water float controls 8 and 9 as nearly alike as possible. Each comprises a bowllike casting 41 in the present showing, each having a lateral chamber extension 42 from the bowl part. Within each bowl is shown a ball float 43 having a lateral stem 44 comprising a first-class lever pivoted, as at 45, near the end of said stem or lever furthest pressure. I I ,valve itself may vary without affecting the underlying principle, I have illustrated for from the ballso asto provide a long lever arm between the pivot and the ball and a short lever arm on the other side of the pivot. The short lever arm carries a floating plunger valve 46 which depends into a valve seat 47 screw-threaded into the bottom of the extension of the valveichamber'. Lifting of the ball will accordingly depressthe valve stem and cause the valve to seat; Entry of the fuel or water, as the case may be, is through the valve seat, herein shown .as

formed in the upper end of a valve coupling directly connected to the supply pipe, Ob-

viously as the fluid level lowers in the float chamber, the lever connected with the ball raises the valve and admits more fluidunt-il the ball rises sufficiently to swing the lever and againclose the valve. Each valve cham her is provided with acover 48, and in case 8, an appropriate aperture 49 isprovided in the cover to maintain atmospheric pressure within the chamber.

It is desirable and probably necessary to proper operation of the device, to maintain as nearly as possible a constant pressure of steam within the pot and, water float chamber. as well as to prevent the pressure from building up unduly or to dangerous amounts.

I accordingly provide a suitable steam release valve 50 in that partof the ;system,

the same being shown'herein ascarried by the cover 48 of the water float control 9. It is within the scopeofthe invention, however, to position this relief valve elsewhere so long as it will function to release the I steam pressure as necessary, and thereby obtain an automatic regulationof the steam 'VVhile the construction of the purposes of beingv definite, a plungervalve head 51 held against its seat by a coil spring 52 the tension of'which may be adjusted by manipulating a retainingnut 53 threaded on a central stud or post 54 upon which said plunger valve head is slidable. An inverted cup-like cover may also be carried by said post and depend over the spring and valve head for protecting said parts if so desired, said cover being free from the valve head so as to permit free passage of the escaping steam to the atmosphere. 7

Various modifications and changes in structural details may be made in manufacturing my improved burner, by those skilled in the art, without departing from i the spirit and scopeof the invention, and

therefore I do not desire to be understood Having thus described the invention, What I claim is':: 1. An'oilburner comprisin a pot having a chamber for producing steam pressure, an

ejector mounted and enclosed Within said chamber With one end opening therein-to for receiving steam pressure and the other'end opening'outside o'l' the pot, and means for supplying oil to said ejector.

2. .An oil burner comprising a pot having a chamber for producing steam pressure, an

ejector mounted and enclosed ivithin'said chamber \vith one end opening thereinto for receiving steam pressure and the other end opening outside of the pot, and an 'o l pipe extending to said ejector through said pot. 3. An oil burner comprising a pot for havln a chamber for roducin steam res- L sure, an ejector mounted and enclosed with in said chamber ivlth one end receiving steam pressure and the other end opening outside said pot, and a float teed below the level of said ejector for supplyingoil there 4. An oil burner comprising a steam gencrating pot having a reentrant Wall and a steam chamber, an e ector mounted and enclosed Within and leading from the interior of said pot through itsreentrant Wall, means for supplying water to said pot, and means for s'upplylng 011 to said e ector through said chamber.

- y 5. An oil burner comprising a steam generatmg pot having a conical rcentrant \vall,

ing from the interior of said pot through WalL'means for supplying Water to said pot,

an ejector mounted and enclosed Within and leading .from the interior of said pot' terior discharge openings, means for sup-' plying air to said passage, an ejector lcadits and means for supplying oil to said ejector by suction.

7. An oil burner comprising a steam pot havingan ejector having a passage leading from the interior of the pot outside the same, means for supplying Water to said steam pot including a float control, a pressure equalizing pipe leading from the steampot to the Water feed float control, andan oil teed pipe ejector.

I 8. An oil havin an ejector having a passage leading from the interior of the pot outside the same, means for supplying Water tosaid steam pot including a float control, a pressure equalizing pipe leading from the steam pot to the Water teed float control, and an oil feed pipe entering the steam pot through said, steam pipe and extending tothe ejector. 9. An oil burner comprising a steam gencrating pot, an ejector leading from'the interior of the pot through its Wall,means for supplying Water to the pot, means for supplying oil to the ejector, an annularpassage adjacent said ejector and having discharge openings directed away therefrom, and means for supplying air to said passage.

10. An oil burner comprisinga steam generating pot, a burner nozzle leading from the interior; of said pot through its Walls, means for supplying Water, to said pot, means for supplying oil to' sa'id nozzle, a

substantially annular passage adjacent andcoaxial with said nozzle -With discharge openings directedavvay from said pot, and

"means for supplying air to said-passage.

11. An oil burner comprising a, steam generating pot havlng a reentrant Wall andan annular passage adjacent said Wall with discharge openings, directed away from said Wall, means for supplying air .to said passage, a burner nozzleleading from the interior of said pot through said Wall, means P WILMER srnvniis,

burner comprising a 'steam'p'ot passing through said steam pipe -to the for supplying Water to said pot, and means 'for supplylng 011 to sald burner nozzle. 

